anna_bibliophile_sue's reviews
281 reviews

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Honestly just felt like a waste of my time and I wish I just wanted to be reading anything else. 

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

mysterious medium-paced

3.5

Nothing to write home about, but an enjoyable mystery.

Recursion by Blake Crouch

challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book is propelling. It's one of those dystopian-like stories that are a little scary of you think about how real it could be. (Read the acknowledgments) I was upset with the ending, but it's not a bad ending. There was also a chapter or two that seemed to move more slowly amd was a little repetitive. I was very into this though, and enjoyed the overall experience. I will definitely be reading more of Blake Crouch's work.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Fredrik Backman does characters so well. I love this story and all it's about. So good!

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book is so not what I expected, but I enjoyed it so much. The marketing as a thriller is confusing, because it isn't very suspenseful with plot twists, and there's not much of a mystery. But it does evoke feelings of excitement, surprise, and anticipation. There are so many details that seemed mundane when reading them, especially in the first half, but them you start to see how every single things comes back and is tied together. She lands this story so well in the last quarter of the book. I am shocked that I'm rating it so highly, but it's such a great book. I loved so much about it that I was not expecting to be in a "thriller." 

The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain by Charles Dickens

3.75

Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

If comparing to 5 stars in other genres, for me it's a 4 star. But this book does everything it should in the literary noir subgenre with 5 stars and beyond. 
The writing is propulsive and spurs the reader to keep reading. There are dark and violent themes, and every character is morally flawed. 
This isn't a whodunit mystery; we know as the story unfolds who does what crimes, but we are examining their motives and deciding who is right and who is wrong.
This isn't a thriller in the sense of big plot twists, but it is a thrilling narrative that keeps you wanting to read the next chapter. I absolutely love a rich neighborhood setting, and this upper class suburban neighborhood a few years in the future is so perfect for this story of class confrontations, alienation, prejudice, and suspense. It describes a possible future climate without getting preachy about it or seeming like it had a political agenda. The dialogue and writing style is short, concise, clever, and sharp.
This is a book I won't recommend to every reader, but if you're looking for something in the crime fiction world, this is a perfect book for you!

The Battle of Life by Charles Dickens

funny hopeful sad fast-paced

4.0

The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens

reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? No

3.75

You win some, you lose some with Dickens

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Scrooge the Musical does the most accurate representation :)